Changes to the notification procedure for food supplements

1.8.2007

<div>Directive 2002/46EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to food supplements has been implemented in Finland through the Decree of the Ministry of Trade and Industry on Food Supplements (571/2003). This Decree has now been amended, and the amendment affects the notification procedure required in marketing food supplements.</div>

On June 1, 2007, the Ministry of Trade and Industry issued
Decree 672/2007, which amends section 7, Marketing of food
supplements, of the Decree on Food Supplements 571/2003. It is thus
no longer necessary to submit a notification one month before
undertaking the activity in question; instead, the operator
marketing a food supplement shall submit the notification at the
same time as the product is brought onto the market. Also, the
notification no longer needs to include an analysis certificate, a
model of the label is adequate. This amendment came into force on
August 1, 2007.

The Decree (571/2003) was amended because the European
Commission, acting on a complaint received, issued an official
reprimand to Finland concerning the application of Directive
2002/46/EC and the interpretation of articles 28 and 30 of the
Treaty establishing the European Community, concerning the free
movement of goods. The Commission considered that the food
supplement notification procedure used in Finland conflicted with
food supplement directive and of the Treaty, because it required
notification to be submitted before bringing a product onto the
market and because the notification had to include an analysis
certificate in addition to a model of the label.

Now that an analysis certificate is no longer required, the Food
Safety Authority can accept food supplement notifications from your
company which are not accompanied by the analysis certificate
required under the Decree before amendment.

However, the Food Safety Authority would like to remind you that
according to section 5 of the Decree on Food Supplements 571/2003
and articles 8-9 of Directive 2002/46/EC the amounts of substances
that characterize the product indicated on the label of a food
supplement must be given as average values based on an analysis of
the product conducted by the manufacturer. Label markings and the
basis for them are monitored by municipal food supervision
authorities after the product has been brought onto the market.